Texas History- Chapter 14 Lesson 2

Texas History- Chapter 14 Lesson 2

Farming and Ranching

ESSENTIAL QUESTION How does geography influence the way people live?

IT MATTERS BECAUSE

Agriculture was an important part of the economy of the Republic of Texas.

Farms and Plantations

• In the Republic of Texas, peoples lives were greatly dependent on agriculture.

• Farmers grew crops that could be easily grown in the area they lived.

• Corn, cotton, and ranching, were a huge part of the economy at this time.

• As a result, agriculture was a major part of the Texas economy.

Small Family Farms

• Most of the agriculture at this time was based on small family farms that used subsistence crops.

• They did not rely on enslaved African Americans to run the farms and all crops and ranching contributed to the family's homestead.

• Chief food crops were corn, sweet potatoes, and a variety of vegetables. Corn was especially important for food products, but it also helped to supplement livestock feed.

• Small farms had some land set aside for cash crops, which was typically cotton. They used the money from these crops to purchase farm equipment and supplies.

• They also raised livestock such as oxen, cattle, horses, goats, hogs, and poultry.

Multiple Choice

Small family farms relied mostly on cash crops for survival.

• True

• False

Plantation Farming

• Although most were small farms, plantations did exist. Their focus was mostly on cash crops such as cotton and sugarcane.

• Most of the plantation owners came from the southern U.S., where they used enslaved labor and were very familiar with cotton.

• Cotton was the most widely used cash crop for plantations, especially with the Anglo Americans who also expanded the use of enslaved workers to grow, tend, and harvest the cotton.

• Early Spanish colonists also helped introduce cotton in San Antonio.

Sugarcane

• Sugarcane was the second largest cash crop. In the 1840s, growing sugarcane increased dramatically.

• Bad weather and pests ruined the cotton crops along the coast at this time. Because of this, sugarcane became a new staple. Farmers also improved production of the crop.

• Processing sugarcane was a risky business, as well as time-consuming and expensive.

• Frosts, storms, and floods could harm sugarcane crops.

• Even with all the risks, sugarcane farming could result in large profits.

Multiple Choice

Anglo Americans from the U.S. mostly supported themselves on the cash crop, cotton, and used enslaved workers to tend the plantations.

• True

• False

Ranching

Ranching in Texas began with the Spanish, who brought cattle, horses, sheep, and other livestock with them. Ranchers in the Republic of Texas raised mainly cattle, sheep, and goats.

Cattle Ranching

• Spanish cattle ranchers influenced ranching by driving cattle to Louisiana. This drove the practice further and influenced the Anglo Americans greatly who used methods from vaqueros such as saddles, equipment, and roping and herding methods.

• Many Anglo Americans turned to cattle herding as a new way of life instead of farming and cattle ranching was important to the Republic of Texas.

• Beef and hides could be sold to townspeople and farmers, and they were also used to barter, or trade, for food, clothing, and other goods.

• The Texas Longhorn also became popular at this time because it was hardy and resistent to disease.

Raising Sheep and Goats

• The Spanish introduced sheep and goat ranching to Texas.

• At first, both sheep and goats produced only small amounts of wool and were raised mainly for their meat. By the time Anglo American settlers arrived, large sheep ranches in Spanish Texas had declined.

• American settlers in the republic revived the industry.

• They introduced different breeds that produced more wool.

Multiple Choice

Goat and sheep ranching was introduced and influenced by the Spanish.

• True

• False

Ranches in the Texas Republic

• Settlers at this time owned large plots of land given to them by land grants. They would graze livestock on this land that surrounded their home.

• Squatters grazed their herds on land they did not own. This actually later helped Texas because it produced successful ranchers that would later pay taxes.

• There were also many successful Tejanos that were ranchers.

• María Calvillo, who owned and operated a goat ranch in Wilson County. Circle T Ranch in Zapata County was founded in Spanish Texas by Bartolomé de Lizarraras y Cuellar.

Multiple Choice

Tejanos were not successful at ranching and very few existed.

• True

• False

Slavery in the Republic

• The Mexican government had officially outlawed slavery in 1829.

• However, the practice did not end in Texas.

• The Republic of Texas protected the practice of slavery under the Constitution of 1836.

• Protection, combined with an abundance of rich, cheap farmland, encouraged the expansion of slavery during the republic.

A Slave Economy

• In 1836 in the early days of the republic, about 5,000 enslaved African Americans lived in Texas. By 1845, their numbers had increased to about 30,000.

• Most of these enslaved workers were brought with slaveholder immigrants from the U.S. Texas also purchased more workers in Galveston, Houston, and New Orleans.

• The production of cash crops relied on the unpaid labor of these enslaved workers. Slavery allowed the agricultural economy to develop during the republic and in the early years of statehood.

• In the 1850s, slave labor helped to bring about a 600 percent increase in cotton production.

Multiple Choice

Slavery was not important to the Texas economy.

• True

• False

Daily Life and Culture

• Most enslaved African Americans in the republic worked on cotton plantations, in the sugarcane fields of the lower Brazos River, and on farms.

• Some other responsibilities included blacksmiths, carpenters, and bricklayers, house servants or mechanics.

• Enslaved people were provided the basics of food, clothing, and shelter, but little else. They were mostly fed corn and pork that they would supplement with fish and vegetables. They slept in small shacks and had little access to doctors or medicine.

• Enslaved workers did attempt to have a family and social life. Many of them relying on religion and music to distract them from their hard lives.

Multiple Choice

Enslaved workers were treated fairly in Texas.

• True

• False